Teaching people to read

The English Teachers are at it again. Phonics are out! Literature is out! Grammar? Do not even dare to mention the word. Spelling does not matter. Received cultural literacy does not matter. What matters is the here and now, the poster for the latest pop concert.
Hmm...no more AA Milne, no "The story about Ping", and definitely no "Wind in the Willows"?
And is this why all those marvellous children's books I read in childhood and early adulthood are no longer available?
Of course new writing means that some things need to leave the library shelves but is Paul Jennings really as good and imaginative as Roald Dahl? Is Lemony Snickert really as good and imaginative as Joan Aiken? I doubt it.
Modern books for children are also shorter. The language is simpler. The plots are all too often repetitive. We seem to be telling them, "Well yes, it is important to read but don't spend too much time on it or try to hard at it because it really is not as important as getting to the next level of your latest computer game."
If the English teachers get their way they will have even less teaching and children will have less learning - and our society will lose far more than it will gain from a badly drawn poster for a pop concert.